Maliki rebuffs move to unseat premier

Lawmakers say a broad alliance of political opponents of the Iraqi prime minister has failed to persuade the country's president to take a first step toward unseating al-Maliki. Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated ruling coalition is increasingly shaky. One coalition member, the Sunni-dominated Iraqiya movement, has long complained about being shut out of power. Recently, two other groups - Kurds and the hard-line Shiite followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - have threatened to defect. On Wednesday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met with Kurdish, Sunni and Sadrist politicians. Kurdish lawmaker Mahmud Othman says participants failed to persuade Talabani to make a first move against al-Maliki - asking the parliament to schedule a vote of no-confidence in the government.